Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Last weekend, my amazing husband decided I needed a break from big city life. When I climbed off the Bolt Bus to Philadelphia on Friday, he promptly bundled me into his car and drove me north again for a surprise weekend trip. I began to be delightfully suspicious when we entered the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, but when we drove through Milford onto ever darker and more winding roads, I was concerned. Where on earth was he taking me?

Eventually we ended up in what appeared to be a dead-end. After two false starts—one into somebody else's driveway and one into a defunct trail—we finally found our pitch-black private road, our own driveway, and a tiny cabin that loomed in the headlights. Inside: bliss.

We stayed up until three o'clock in the morning enjoying beer and popcorn in front of the fire (something we have sorely missed in our Philadephia row house). Kira the dog fell asleep long before we did. In the morning, I ventured outdoors to see the creek I could only hear the night before, gurgling along below the stone terrace behind the cabin. I discovered that the leaves were already gorgeous shades of gold and orange and russet.

Later that afternoon, we drove back down Route 209 to hike to two waterfalls we had passed in the dark the night before: Ramondskill Falls (the longest waterfall in Pennsylvania) and Dingmans Falls (the second-longest). Derek climbed a shaley mountainside and spotted a red dragonfly. I got a new stamp in my National Parks Passport. We visited a waterwheel and bought some excellent cookies. By the time we went back to the cabin, my smiling muscles were tired.

Middle Raymondskill Falls

Red dragonfly

Snaky roots

That night we made fondue from wine and cheese Derek had brought from home, and sat in front of the fire slurping it up with chunks of poorly baked Shoprite bread. It was fantastic. I've never been so happy to be kidnapped. It's good to know that, even while New York City roars around me, a little cabin sits in quiet woods, waiting for my return. And that I have the most thoughtful husband in the world.